Scoliosis is a condition that once it reaches a certain threshold it tends to get progressively worse with time, if it is left untreated. In severe cases of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (40 degrees or more) that continue to progress are usually recommended by spine surgeons to be treated with surgery. Prior to that the “standard of care” in cases of 25 degrees of curvature or higher are also treated with bracing. The usual recommendation involves using a static brace with a hard plastic shell that must be worn for most of the day much like a plaster cast.

Prior to 25 degrees of curvature most orthopedic surgeons will recommend a “watch and wait” approach but recent studies have shown that once a curvature has progressed beyond 25 degrees it will tend to continue to progress due to the forces of gravity. For this reason, waiting until the spine has gone 25 degrees away from its normal angle can be dangerous. For this reason, the medical community has been looking for a more effective, earlier treatment of scoliosis.

There are many challenges to treating scoliosis. Static bracing can have many deleterious effects on the wearer. Hard braces immobilize the torso and can lead to atrophy of spinal muscles, lack of muscle control and decreased body awareness. This can result in a return of the increase in progression of the curvatures after the hard brace is removed.

Spine Cor Brace was developed by a team of orthopedic surgeons, Dr. Charles Hilaire Rivard and Dr. Christine Coillard at St. Justine’s Hospital in Montreal. They felt that static braces were too restrictive and resulted in muscle atrophy and bone sensity loss. In contrast, the SpineCor brace is flexible so it allows the muscles to be worked. This also allows it to be used much earlier in the progression of scoliosis and was developed to treat spine curvature of 15 degrees or higher. This means that it earlier intervention is possible. Starting treatment at an earlier results in better outcomes and in the vast majority of cases means avoiding a future of scoliosis surgery.

This type of a dynamic brace is constructed from static elements connected by adjustable elastic bands. These elastic bands can be used by the doctors to tailor the treatment to a particular patient. The elastic bands, in addition to the three static components, work by allowing consistent corrective movement throughout the day.

The flexible brace does not impede movement, instead it encourages movement into the direction of correction. Because it is very flexible, the child can still play sports, participate in physical activities. Used in conjunction with Schroth rehabilitative therapy exercises it is part of a comprehensive scoliosis treatment program that works with the spine to better correct the curvature and provide relief to the patient.

The Spine Cor brace is notable in its field as the one way to correct scoliosis at a far earlier age than other products. It can be worn comfortably under clothing and allow the child to have a full social life. As such, this brace offers beneficial, corrective action, that can have a far reaching effect in the future of the patient.